A new nanostructured TiAlC/TiAlCN/TiAlSiCN/TiAlSiCO/TiAlSiO tandem absorber has been designed for high-temperature solar thermal power applications. The first three layers in this tandem act as an absorbing layer, whereas, TiAlSiCO and TiAlSiO act as semi-transparent and anti-reflecting layers. The tandem absorber was deposited on stainless steel substrates using a four-cathode reactive direct current unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. The composition and thicknesses of the individual component layers have been optimized by adjusting the reactive flow rate of C2H2, N-2, O-2, and also Al, Ti and Si target power densities to achieve high absorptance (0.961) and low emittance (0.07 at 82 degrees C). The reflectance data showed that the absorptance increases gradually with shift of reflectance minimum to higher wavelengths from first layer to last layer (i.e., TiAlC to TiAlSiO). The thickness of optimized tandem absorber was calculated from the cross-sectional field-emission scanning electron microscopy images and confirmed using transmission electron microscopy. The performance evaluation of the tandem absorber has been evaluated by heating it in air and vacuum under cycling conditions at different temperatures. These results showed that the tandem absorber was stable up to 325 degrees C in air for 400 h and up to 650 degrees C in vacuum for 100 h, thus demonstrating its suitability for high-temperature solar thermal power generation applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.